New Orleans « Reclaiming Our Way

26Oct/152

Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans? Then You Know How Wendell Pierce Feels. A Case of Structural Racism.

Structural racism and exploitation.

An important 3-minute listen or read about New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, as shared by Wendell Pierce...

As with nearly all New Orleans natives, Wendell Pierce and his family were devastated by the damage and aftermath of 2005's Hurricane Katrina. In this video, Pierce explains how it wasn't long after the water had receded that the proverbial leeches emerged for the feast.

Insurance companies refused to honor insurance policies. Reconstruction of public housing was delayed in order to force the people who depended on it to find some other city to live in. Myriad institutional procedures and machinations were organized so that local, predominantly African-American residents were excluded from the recovery. There are some who argue that Hurricane Katrina was the best thing to ever happen to the New Orleans because it allowed for rebirth. But which New Orleans are those people talking about?

And through all this ugliness and exclusionary tactics, the national media stayed silent and continues to stay silent.

Tagged as: Hurricane Katrina, institutional racism, New Orleans, structural racism, Wendell Pierce 2 Comments

7Apr/150

The Soul Rebels Brass Band @ The Blue Nile: Let it Roll!

I had a chance to check out The Soul Rebels brass band while I was in New Orleans. They were playing at their usual Thursday night spot, Le Bons Temps Roule in the Garden District. Aside from some of the entitled and rude white college kids up in the spot (like me, most of them not from New Orleans), the music was on point. Such energy and soul! Any chance you get to check them out... you have to make it happen.

Here's the band playing one of their tracks, Let it Roll, at the Blue Nile.

A real treat!

Tagged as: Le Bons Temps Roule, New Orleans, Soul Rebels Brass Band No Comments

9Jan/130

It Ain’t My Fault by Mos Def & Lenny Kravitz

Mos Def, Lenny Kravitz, the Preservation Hall Band, Trombone Shorty, and Tim Robbins teamed up to record It Ain't My Fault to benefit Gulf Aid, a nonprofit created in response to the oil spill off the Louisiana Coast.